Summary-Body
President Donald Trump’s executive order last year aimed at building a U.S. deep-sea mining industry from scratch has triggered a rapid surge of industry interest and regulatory momentum, according to an Associated Press review published May 21. The order directed federal agencies to expedite permitting, setting off a scramble by companies seeking access to seabed minerals and by investors betting on future production.
AP reported that in the year since Trump signed the order, businesses have raised millions of dollars, stock prices have climbed, and federal regulators have moved to fast-track the permitting process. The review found that at least nine companies are in talks with the government for access to seabed minerals, and that sections of the seafloor from American Samoa to Alaska could be auctioned this summer and through the fall.
The push arrives at a point where commercial mining has not yet happened in international waters. For decades, countries have negotiated mining rules at the International Seabed Authority in Jamaica, where officials have granted exploration rights but have not allowed commercial mining, and where the agency’s mandate designates minerals for the shared benefit of “all humankind.” Trump’s order, the AP report said, signaled the U.S. would decide for itself when to mine the global seabed, reversing prior administrations’ decisions to honor the authority’s rules.
Trump’s executive order “marked a sudden embrace of an industry long dormant in the U.S.,” AP reported, with the administration framing seafloor minerals as vital to U.S. prosperity and trade independence from China. In response to questions from AP, a White House spokesperson said “all presidential actions are legally sound.” The order’s permitting acceleration has placed NOAA and BOEM at the center of a decision process AP described as moving faster than before.
AP said two agencies would enforce the rules: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees minerals beyond U.S. borders, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which regulates offshore oil, gas, wind and minerals in U.S. waters. AP said NOAA and BOEM have no track record of approving commercial seabed mining—NOAA has never approved a commercial project and BOEM has not approved one beyond a brief, long-ago effort in California waters. But under the new administration, their leaders have been pushing for change, with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announcing a mandate for BOEM to “speed up” offshore critical-minerals development and outlining steps to streamline regulation.
AP also reported that NOAA has adjusted its approach to permits. Until this year, NOAA required companies to hold an exploration license before they could pursue commercial operations, but AP said NOAA in January indicated companies could apply for both activities at once. AP said NOAA also requested funding to expand its permitting staff and set a target of processing 16 applications next fiscal year.
Among the companies seeking to benefit from the executive order, AP described The Metals Company as a longtime industry front-runner. The firm told AP it is ready to commercially mine the seafloor before the end of next year if the U.S. issues a permit, and AP said it tested equipment in deep-water conditions by hauling up 3,000 metric tons of nodules in a 2022 trial. AP also reported close ties between the company’s chief executive, Gerard Barron, and Trump administration officials, including Barron’s claim that he was in the White House on the day the executive order was signed and his participation in congressional hearings.
But AP reported skepticism about whether promised riches will materialize, citing a pattern of uncertainty around company financial models and track records. Deep-sea explorer and private equity investor Victor Vescovo, who AP said has chosen not to invest in deep-sea mining companies, said: “It just feels right to people thinking that there is a cornucopia of metals on the bottom of the seafloor that are just there to be plucked up like seashells on the seashore,” and added that with “more scrutiny on their actual financial models,” people would see “Wait a second, this is much more uncertain.”
Other firms described by AP include Odyssey Marine Exploration, which AP said previously sought sunken treasure and later pivoted toward seafloor minerals after disputes tied to shipwreck salvaging. AP also described Impossible Metals, a startup that has proposed robotic collection methods and has drawn outcry from local residents and leaders in U.S. territories it would target; AP said American Samoa has banned deep-sea mining in local waters, and that Guam and a push in the Northern Marianas reflect local concerns that environmental and economic harms could fall on island communities. AP said Impossible Metals did not respond to AP’s requests for comment.
AP also raised questions about the industry’s economics, noting that some analysts and investors doubt the economic merit and the scale of returns. AP quoted a mining consultant, Lyle Trytten, saying mineral forecasts “often get a lot of attention when they’re very high, and then things change,” and reported that the outlook for metals contained in polymetallic nodules depends on demand shifts and on whether costs can be kept low enough to produce profits. AP reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission requires public mining companies to assess economic viability in “pre-feasibility study” documents, and it described disputes over whether The Metals Company’s forecasts appear overly optimistic.
Beyond technology and economics, AP said companies would also face regulatory and practical challenges around where nodules would be processed and refined. The report said the U.S. currently has no major processing facilities for nickel, manganese or cobalt, and that building such facilities could require significant time and capital. Coalter Lathrop, a legal expert on the law of the sea, told AP that reliance on foreign partners could create legal issues, given that many other countries involved in deep-sea mining are bound by commitments to the International Seabed Authority.
As regulators pursue permitting changes, federal decision-making is also expected to confront political and scientific disputes over whether deep-sea mining should proceed before key uncertainties are resolved. At the same time, AP described some companies pressing ahead with applications and lobbying, while local and environmental opponents warn of risks tied to a deep ocean that remains under-studied. The question for regulators, AP suggested, is not only whether permits can be issued, but whether the industry’s readiness—including finances, technology and refining plans—can withstand scrutiny before commercial mining begins.